NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 02/07/13 -- Micro Fragrance, the exclusive service provider in Japan for ambient-scenting technologies created by Milwaukee-based Prolitec, is one of two nominees for the Scent Marketing Institute's Harald Vogt Scent Marketer of the Year Award.

The nomination recognizes Micro Fragrance for its transformation of olfactory environments within a large segment of the Japanese gaming industry -- namely, the approximately 280 pachinko parlors of industry giant Maruhan, which employs 12,500 people and operates pachinko parlors, bowling alleys, golf driving ranges, amusement facilities, cinemas and other leisure-related businesses throughout Japan.

"With competition from over 10,000 other pachinko locations, Maruhan wanted to further differentiate its brand from all others in the segment," explained Prolitec Executive Vice President Roger Bensinger. "At the same time, the company wanted to mitigate the malodors that can be associated with large numbers of smokers in close quarters, a challenge faced by the entire gaming industry in the country."

Micro Fragrance and Prolitec provided Maruhan with a unique fragrance called "Pomegranate Fusion." This engaging and zesty scent, now being rolled out at all Maruhan pachinko parlors using approximately 2,500 Prolitec Air/Q scent-diffusion systems, calls to mind vibrant and ripe pomegranates mingled with bright citrus notes of lemon, lime, mandarin, and a touch of ginger. "Included in the formulation are proprietary malodor agents that directly target smoke and perspiration," Bensinger said. "This pleasant scent effect establishes a memory trace that begins in the parking garage and lightly envelopes Maruhan's customers during their time spent gaming. This fragrance, in other words, is now part of the Maruhan brand."

After an initial rollout of about 70 core locations, Maruhan moved to bring the technology to its entire portfolio.

Factors contributing to Maruhan's move to institute the program with Micro Fragrance included the unique features of Prolitec's technologies. The company's Air/Q units offer an on-board computer that can be used to control both the intensity and duration of custom scent effects, up to and including programmable start and stop times. Meanwhile, its micro-droplet technology uniformly treats the air throughout large and small spaces using ultra-low concentrations of liquid. This technology has enabled commercial customers -- including Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casinos, Bliss Spas and GE Healthcare, to name a few -- to take a safe and sustainable approach to enhancing the olfactory environment. Indeed, Prolitec's products meet and exceed all consumer product safety standards and use no propellants or any other harmful, volatile organic compounds.

"It's a great honor to be nominated and is an honor as well for Maruhan," said Takanori Tada, Director, Micro Fragrance, a division of Entrex. "This demonstrates their innovative approach to marketing their Pachinko Parlors in Japan. This new scent program has elevated the image of gaming and customers love it."

With the largest scenting program in Japan, Maruhan has set the standard for the gaming industry, and other pachinko parlor companies are now following suit, Bensinger added. "We are proud that our partner in Japan has become the leading provider of scent to the Japanese gaming industry," he said. "We are also grateful to SMI for recognizing Micro Fragrance and its great work."

SMI will announce the winner Feb. 7 at a gala awards dinner for ScentWorld 2013, a scent and sensory marketing conference runs that runs Feb. 6-8 at the Marriott Downtown in the heart of New York's Financial Center. The award is named for the late ScentWorld founder and industry pioneer, Harald Vogt. It is given to, in SMI's words, the "most spectacular and meaningful scent-marketing project from the past year."

About ProlitecProlitec is a global provider of ambient scenting technology and services to retail stores, hotels, casinos, assisted living communities, offices and other locations. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Prolitec provides scent marketing services in the US directly to major brands such as Abercrombie & Fitch, Disney and Hollister. Prolitec also provides services in more than 60 countries around the world through certified service provider partners. To learn more, visit www.prolitec.com.

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